The Initiative for Rural Innovation & Stewardship (IRIS) plans to showcase success stories when it teams up with partners to convene the 8th annual NCW Community Success Summit in Chelan on Nov. 8. “Pristine Lake, Passionate People — Where Beauty Runs Deep” is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chelan Community Gym.

We’re thrilled to be working with the City of Chelan and the greater community to host the summit this year. And as City of Chelan Mayor Mike Cooney points out, “this community that extends from McNeil Canyon in Douglas County to Stehekin on the west end of Lake Chelan has nurtured many collaborative successes.”

Some of the success stories that will be highlighted at the summit include the citizen-science initiative, “Keep it Blue Lake Chelan,” and the Chelan Roundtable, an informal leadership group that tapped the community spirit of the valley and helped generate a variety of successes in the Chelan Valley over the past decade.

IRIS is gathering other success stories from across the region that contribute to the kind of community we want to live in — one that maintains diverse, healthy ecosystems, fosters a high quality of life for all, and bridges cultural and political divides.

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The public is invited to submit success stories from Chelan and from across the Grant, Douglas, Okanogan and Chelan county region. Visit irisncw.org to download the template and submit yours. Visit IRIS on Facebook to preview stories contributed by others.

To build on the 2016 summit in Quincy, IRIS is working again with the local school district to engage a team of faculty and students in aspects of the summit. One example of this collaboration is the art created by Li Ting Hsia, an exchange student from Taiwan, that graphic designer Dan O’Connor used to create the logo for this year’s event. Students will also welcome participants to their community and work with resource experts to facilitate roundtable discussions about stories that can inspire success in other parts of our region.

IRIS is working with an advisory committee to plan other elements of the summit that will include presentation of the community timeline, a locally-catered lunch, live music and sponsor displays. Event planners anticipate that more than 160 people from Chelan and across the region will participate in the summit. An annual celebration of success, the summit also serves as a fundraiser that will enable IRIS to continue the cycle of highlighting success through 2020 when the event will be staged in the Wenatchee Valley.

IRIS is proud to acknowledge our 2020 Legacy Partners including the Port of Douglas County, Community Choice, The Wenatchee World, and Wenatchee Valley College; and the 2017 annual sponsors for this event: City of Chelan, Chelan School District, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Agriculture, Columbia Valley Community Health, Molina Healthcare, NCW Business Loan Fund, Lake Chelan Community Hospital Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Wenatchee Valley Chamber of Commerce, Economic Alliance, Bureau of Land Management and Cascadia Conservation District.

For more information about how to get involved in planning for the 2017 NCW Community Success Summit or the 2020 Legacy Project call the IRIS office at 888-7374 or email irisncw@gmail.com. To see the agenda and register visit irisncw.org.